Citrix buys German vendor Netviewer for online meetings

Citrix Systems announced Friday it has agreed to purchase German vendor Netviewer, maker of online meeting software, in order to meet growing demand for such services in the European region.

The deal is expected to close early next year. Terms were not disclosed.

Along with online meetings, Netviewer sells software for running online support help desks, remote administration and webinars. It has 220 employees and 18,000 customers, including Siemens, SAP, Bayer and BMW, according to its website. Citrix plans to roll Netviewer into its Citrix Online division.

Demand for online collaboration software is expected to grow rapidly in Europe due to trends like globalization, decentralized teams and the limiting of travel due to environmental concerns, according to Citrix.

Buying Netviewer now will allow Citrix Online to be ready in Europe "just as demand surges," it said.

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